


Let me come along

by Luonnotar



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: First Meetings, Hospitals, M/M, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29861076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luonnotar/pseuds/Luonnotar
Summary: Ten's son gets sick.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun
Comments: 25
Kudos: 159





	Let me come along

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andnowforyaya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andnowforyaya/gifts).



> Happy birthday to my dear friend and one of my favorite authors! I wish I had a better present for you than this modest little story but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway 💕

“Daddy?”

Ten was roused by the small voice coming from somewhere near. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and sat up, turning the bedside lamp on. It was barely five AM.

Chenle was standing by the bed, looking pale and teary-eyed. “I’m sorry daddy. I made a mess.”

“Oh baby, what happened?” Ten asked, getting up and gathering his son in his arms. Chenle cried softly, rubbing his face against his father’s sleep shirt. The stale smell of vomit clung to him. “Are you sick? Does it hurt anywhere?” Ten felt the boy’s forehead and found it warm.

“My head and tummy hurt,” Chenle answered weakly. 

Worry was gnawing at Ten’s insides, but he didn’t let it show. He set his son down on his bed and smoothed his hair away from his forehead with a smile. “Daddy will take care of everything, baby. Wait here, I’ll be right back.” 

When Chenle nodded, Ten walked out of the bedroom, turning the hallway lights on as he made his way to his son’s room. Unsurprisingly, he found a small puddle of vomit on his blanket. He bundled it up and carried it to the bathroom and put it in the hamper. 

He grabbed a washcloth, ran cold water on it and wrung it out. He filled a glass with water and grabbed a box of paracetamol from the cabinet and carried everything back to his bedroom.

Chenle was shivering in bed, whining every now and then. Ten’s throat was closing up. The thought of his baby being in pain was unbearable to him. He wiped the sweat that had gathered on the boy’s brow and shook him slightly. “Lele, baby, here. You have to drink this to feel better,” he said, taking a pill out of the container and bringing it to his son’s lips, who swallowed it dutifully, along with the water. 

Ten took the thermometer he kept in his bedside drawer out and aimed it at Chenle’s forehead. After a few seconds, it let out a beep and the screen read 102 degrees. 

“What does it say, daddy?” Chenle asked, his natural curiosity overcoming his physical weakness.

“It says that you’re a bit under the weather, but it’s nothing to worry about, okay? You’ll sleep with me until you feel better.”

He made Chenle drink more water, helped him out of his stained pyjama shirt and into a fresh one and settled next to him on the bed, occasionally running the washcloth over his forehead and down his neck. He was going to wait an hour and check his temperature again before deciding what to do. 

Chenle quietly asked, "Daddy, can we watch the Little Furry? I don't want to sleep."

"Anything my baby wants," Ten replied, reaching for the tablet that was on his bedside table. He had been working late on a project and only stopped when his eyes burned from the screen light. "How about this one?" he asked, tapping on a random episode. Chenle nodded and snuggled against his father's chest. He knew them all by heart anyway.

Ten's thoughts went back to the previous evening. Chenle had seemed quite normal when he'd picked him up from preschool, even singing along to songs playing on the radio. Had he shown any signs later, during dinner? Ten wasn't sure. Shame washed over him. He tried his best to prioritize his son's needs, but with how hectic work had been lately, with deadlines coming up, it hadn't been easy.

He prayed to any god listening that this fever would go away. He'd do better from now. He'd have to talk with Taeil about taking on less workload from now on.

After a handful of episodes, Chenle fell asleep. Ten turned the screen off and checked his son's temperature again. When he saw that the fever had decreased, he set his phone's alarm and adjusted the bedsheets around them both. His eyes were growing heavy.

It wasn't his alarm that woke him up, but Chenle's whining. Ten's shirt was drenched in sweat where his son was sticking to him. The boy was burning up.

Trying his best not to let panic overwhelm him, Ten got up, got quickly dressed and bundled his son up in his padded coat. With Chenle in his arms, he grabbed his phone and keys and stepped out into the cold morning and towards his car. It was barely past seven AM and traffic shouldn't be too bad, so he hoped the drive to the hospital would be quick. 

He took deep breaths whenever he stopped at a red light. It wouldn't do any good to allow his stress to cause an accident. Chenle was strapped in his carseat, skin pale and eyes closed, but he responded whenever Ten spoke to him. 

After parking at the hospital lot, Ten all but ran towards the entrance, Chenle in his arms. The nurse at the front desk greeted them with an exhausted look, but he didn’t ask them to wait, at least. As soon as he entered Ten’s insurance information into the system, he ushered them towards the pediatrics ward.

“I’m going to check a few things, and then Dr. Qian will see you,” the nurse said as he settled Chenle on one of the empty beds. He checked the boy’s temperature and blood pressure, among other things, while Ten stood on the side, trying his best not to interfere. 

He failed when the nurse declared that he would need a blood sample. “Chenle is terrified of needles,” he blurted out. “Can you give us a moment? I need to talk him into it,” he added, more quietly.

The nurse nodded and said, “I’ll be right over there, just wave at me.”

After he left, Ten crouched down until his face was on a level with his son’s and ran his hand over his clammy forehead. “Baby,” he started. “They’re going to give you medication so you can get better real fast, but they need to take a little bit of blood just to make sure what’s right for you. They’ll use a tiny needle and it won’t hurt much. Daddy will stay with you the whole time, I’ll make them stop if it hurts too much. Can you do this for me?”

Chenle had started crying midway through Ten’s speech. He nodded, though, biting his lips in an effort to keep quiet. It broke Ten’s heart all over again. His little boy was trying to be brave for him. He took him in his arms and rubbed his back, telling him that he was so proud of him for being so strong, all the while trying to swallow back the tears that filled his own eyes. 

He heard the sound of a throat being cleared behind him. He turned around and was faced with a man wearing a white coat, who he could only assume was Dr. Qian. He looked to be around Ten’s age, and was only slightly taller than him. 

“Good morning,” the man said with a smile that showed deep dimples on his cheeks. “Why are you crying, Lele? There’s really nothing to be scared of, I promise. It’ll be just like the last time.” He reached over and ruffled Chenle’s hair as he said that, then turned to Ten, still smiling. “Hello. I’m Qian Kun, resident in pediatrics, and I’ll be treating your son, Mr—” he looked closer at the tablet he had in his hand, “Leecha…”

“Just Ten is fine,” Ten cut him off, somewhat abruptly. “I’m sorry but how do you know my son? I don’t remember ever taking him to you, or even seeing you before.” Ten wasn’t sure why he was being so hostile. It was probably the accumulation of stress. 

Before he could apologize, Dr. Qian replied. “Chenle and I are old friends. We worked together to get him rid of a nasty bee sting, a while ago. The person who brought him said they were his uncle.” 

It was Xuxi. Ten had been on a work trip then, and his friend had babysat Chenle, and had overreacted thinking that the boy had had an allergic reaction. “I remember,” he said. “That was over a year ago.” How was it even possible that a doctor who saw so many children on a daily basis would specifically remember his boy?

“It was,” the doctor said with a chuckle, “But I couldn’t forget how strong Lele was then. I’m sure he’s gotten much stronger now that he’s so big, right buddy?”

Chenle had stopped crying and was staring at the man with big, shiny eyes. He nodded and said, “Yes, Dr. Kun.”

Dr. Qian’s dimples seemed to deepen. “There’s a good boy, now let’s get you all better.” He turned that smile to Ten and said, “It’s better if you stay close to him, but don’t worry, it’ll be quick.” 

Ten nodded and moved to the other side of Chenle’s bed as the nurse from earlier rolled a medical cart up. 

The pediatrician worked quickly while talking to Chenle about various medical tools, explaining their use in a language the boy could understand. Soon enough, he had placed the needle in his arm, all while telling Chenle that he was doing so well and that it was soon to be over. 

Ten felt his son briefly flinch once the needle was in, and he could see him turning slightly paler than he already was, but Dr. Qian was right. The boy really was brave. Ten felt his throat close up again. He kept rubbing his back, and when it was all done, Chenle turned to him with a tremulous smile, saying, “I was strong, right daddy? It didn’t even hurt much.” 

“Yes, you are the strongest boy in the world,” Ten said, kissing the boy’s hair. 

Once the samples were carried away by the nurse, Dr. Qian turned to Ten and said, “It’s going to take about forty minutes to get the results back. I’m going to run some other exams on Lele, so if you want to go grab a coffee, you can.” 

Ten opened his mouth to protest, but closed it and nodded. He was starting to feel a bit faint, not having eaten anything since dinner, and having slept so little. His son needed him and he couldn’t afford to collapse. Besides, he felt like he really could trust the doctor. Chenle didn’t seem upset to see him step out. Ten decided to take the opportunity to call Taeil and inform him of the situation and his unavailability for the rest of the week.

About an hour later, Ten was sitting in the ward, watching his son who in turn was watching a cartoon on his father’s phone. The nurse had managed to place an IV drip on Chenle without any complaint from the boy once he told him that it was Dr. Kun’s order. 

The pediatrician returned then and declared, “I have the test results here. Lele is going to be fine in two or three days. It’s a viral gastroenteritis. Rest and hydration should do the trick.” He turned to Chenle and said, “A tiny little bug got into your tummy and got you sick, but because you’re so strong and brave, your body is fighting it as we speak and it will win.”

His words made Chenle giggle. Ten tried to mirror his son’s glee, but he felt tears streaming down his own face. Dr. Qian looked at him with a concerned expression, and asked more quietly, “It’s really nothing, Mr. Ten. He probably caught it at school. These things happen and are nothing to worry about.”

“I know,” Ten said, trying to hide his tears from his son, who thankfully had gone back to his cartoon. “I just-” He couldn’t finish the sentence, struggling as he was to keep his emotions in check.

“Come with me,” the doctor said. He made sure the nurse was nearby before leading Ten to a small office right outside of the ward. 

By the time Ten had settled on one of the chairs in front of the desk, he was starting to feel embarrassed about his emotional outburst. He gratefully accepted the water bottle Dr. Qian offered him, then said, “I’m really sorry about that, I got overwhelmed I guess. I was so scared you were going to say it’s meningitis or something like that.”

“It’s totally okay, I understand that,” Dr. Qian said with a kind smile. “I have a boy around Lele’s age, and the slightest cough gives me nightmares.” He pushed that tissue box that was on the desk towards Ten.

“Thank you,” Ten said, wiping his cheeks with a tissue. “I guess I feel guilty because work has been taking too much of my attention and it’s just Chenle and me at home and what if it had been more serious and I hadn’t reacted fast enough?” It felt good to talk about it, even if he felt like crying all over again.

Dr. Qian reached across the desk and put a comforting hand on Ten’s forearm. “But you did, and everything’s fine. You work hard for the sake of your son, too, so don’t blame yourself. These things are bound to happen. That’s what I tell myself all the time, anyway. My situation with my Yangyang is a bit similar to yours. We just have to do what we can, and you’re doing great, trust me.”

Ten wanted to believe him. “Thank you, Dr. Qian.”

“You can call me Kun, like Lele does,” the doctor replied, dimples in full display. Ten smiled back. 

  
  


A few hours later, Ten had signed the discharge papers and was helping Chenle zip up his jacket, promising him to make his favorite pan-fried noodles for a late lunch, when Qian Kun stopped by. 

He was clearly heading out, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, and Ten hadn’t noticed at first how handsome the doctor was, but now that the stress from earlier had subsided, he could only stare.

“My shift is over, but I wanted to say goodbye to our little champion before leaving. Glad to see I caught you on time,” he said, patting Chenle on the head. “Also,” he added, looking at Ten, “I wanted to give you my number. Call me if you ever have any questions or if you need anything. Just text me first, in case I’m with patients.” He handed him a green post-it note with a number scribbled on it. 

Ten said, “Thank you, Kun. For everything,” and watched the doctor’s smile brighten as he waved at them both and departed.

“Baby, when you get better, do you want to help me bake cookies for Dr. Kun?” he asked, lifting his son up in his arms and stepping towards the exit. 


End file.
